Chapter 0: Red Ice
Prologue: 2 Years Before the End of the Great War
The war between the Centralized Empire of Odinicio and the Eastern Tribes has been raging for three years since its beginning. The Empire’s technological and military superiority caused the loss of sixty percent of the Eastern Tribes’ territory over the course of the conflict.
With only their capitals (the Fortress and Talora) and a few surrounding towns under their control, the Eastern Tribes find themselves on the brink of imminent conquest. Talora, which had remained out of the Empire’s grasp, is now about to be taken.
As the base of operations for the entire armed front, its capture would mean the loss not only of the city as territory but also of the families of the thousands of soldiers at the front and all the resources they produce.
The Empire’s forces are just two battles away from taking Talora, and the high command had already decided they would tender their resignation should they lose the city.
And it is precisely at this point in the war that the call for help to Kanter, the southern border city, was answered.
Emissaries from Kanter, a contingent of one thousand soldiers from the race of Assassins, have arrived with a message.
A force of ten thousand more soldiers is coming as reinforcements to the Eastern lands.
Talora only has to hold out for thirty more days.
Chapter 0: Red Ice
I watch several Imperial soldiers setting up strange-looking devices at the entrances of the underground bases they have erected in the field. Several others stand guard on the perimeter surrounding the metal fences.
Finally, I lower my binoculars and pass them to Rex Cliff, who is beside me. Seeing his small body clad in armor made entirely of iron still feels strange to me. I look at my own armor, made entirely of leather except for the right pauldron, the breastplate, and some sections of the joints, which are metal.
“More traps?” his yellow eyes scan the landscape before he uses the binoculars.
“Yeah... probably cold bombs again,” I click my tongue in disgust.
“How uncreative...”
I turn to see who said that. Félix Dagón returns my gaze, his crimson-red eyes observing the enemy camp while he maintains an expression of boredom. He looks over at me, and I notice what seems to be a blade of grass between his teeth. I give him a nod of approval, and he shakes his messy hair with apparent amusement.
“It’s pointless,” I finally say, ignoring his comment. “Our shields are useless against the abrupt drop in temperature those things cause.”
“Commander?” Cliff points to a spot in the enemy’s outpost.
I take the binoculars back and focus my sight. I can just make out a door to one of the underground bases. Supplies. Multiple boxes of what appear to be food provisions are stored there.
I turn to look at Dagón.
“How much would losing them set them back?” he asks.
“Difficult to calculate without knowing the exact quantities...”
It’s at least ten days by ship from their capital to the coast, plus another ten days by wagon to get here... their ships can carry at least four wagons... if the quantities are what we’ve found in the other outposts we’ve raided, I thought, calculating.
“One to two weeks for the forces in this part of the territory. They’d probably have to request rations from other nearby bases.”
“And how does that translate for the forces in the entire territory?” Dagón inquired.
“Ah...” I sighed, “maybe five days, being optimistic...”
Dagón whistled, pleased.
“Well, let’s take the information to the General.”
I felt my skin crawl as I heard him mention her. Dagón didn’t miss it and looked at me with a bit of curiosity, but he didn’t ask any questions.
I stood up, and Cliff and Dagón did as well. I looked around, searching for our other companion. Cliff brings a few fingers to his mouth and lets out a sharp whistle.
The upper branches of the trees move, and suddenly I see the figure of Maximus Lake hanging upside down, holding on with only his legs from a tree branch. His blue eyes watch me calmly.
“Are we leaving already?” he asks before doing a flip and landing on the ground. Cliff approaches and removes a small twig from his hair, and Lake, in turn, adjusts Cliff’s scarf. “Seriously, how are you not hot wearing this?”
“I’ve already told you I’m fine,” Lake grunts, fixing the scarf himself.
With a sigh of exasperation, I start walking towards our camp, not bothering to see if the others are following me.
“Do you think the provisions will have any of those delicious chicken cubes?” I turned quickly to see Lake licking his lips with a look of pleasure. I felt my eyebrow raise involuntarily in a gesture of disbelief.
“I’d be happy with a bit of processed chocolate,” Cliff added in a calmer tone.
“Guys, guys, you’re not thinking straight,” Dagón said in a solemn voice.
Cliff and Lake looked at Dagón, a little dejected.
Hearing that from Dagón made me reconsider my perception of him. Maybe he wasn’t a heartless Assassin after all.
“The best food in the Empire is, without a doubt, the tomato paste they have! It tastes delicious combined with the chilies we brought from the south.” Cliff and Lake looked at Dagón as if he had just revealed the secret to immortality.
With this, my hopes of having a normal squad member die, I said in my mind, disappointed.
I huffed under my breath as I quickened my pace, trying to get far enough away not to hear their conversation about the Empire’s food.
I glanced around distractedly. The trees were becoming scarcer as we left the thick of the forest, and fragments of the night sky began to appear. I had never been the type to be interested in stars; I only knew enough to distinguish the cardinal points.
On nights like these, I liked to remember my homeland a little. Unlike the Hunters’ lands, our land didn’t have extensive vegetation, only immense fields of snow that stretched as far as the eye could see.
I managed to spot a series of stars in the sky that formed the only constellation I knew, the Polar Bear, my spirit animal. I sighed heavily as I watched it.
My thoughts were interrupted by hurried footsteps approaching me.
Dagón caught up and began to walk beside me.
“You’re in a hurry. Are you excited to bring the news to the General?”
“You know very well I’m not...” I said, trying to hide my disgust for the subject. Seeing Dagón’s mocking face, it was clear I had failed.
“Then what’s wrong?”
“When we give her the information...” I bit my lip reflexively, “...she’s going to send a team to get rid of those bombs...”
“I thought you didn’t have the equipment to disable them,” Dagón said, slightly surprised.
“We don’t...” I replied heavily. I saw on his face how he slowly digested the meaning of my words.
“Then why don’t you just hide it from her?”
“I... I can’t do that either...”
We both fell silent and simply walked towards the camp.
...
“We’ll send a small group to clear a path for us.”
In front of me stood my general, Sandra Chase. Her blue eyes moved quickly over several documents she had on her table, barely paying me any attention. The campaign tent we were in wasn’t the best, but since we were constantly on the move, it was the best we had.
“Clear a path for us?” I repeated caustically. Chase looked up from her papers. “Don’t you mean ‘go die and be turned into damn popsicles’?”
Chase sighed, as a mother would, tired of repeating the same thing to her children who don’t understand. Her eyes met mine, blue as ice and as dangerous as a loaded rifle.
“Tell me, Rafael,” she began as she tied her straight hair into a ponytail, “you and I have known each other for a long time. It’s not for nothing that you’re my right hand.” She pushed her chair back a little, rising from her seat. “You already knew what my decision would be before I gave it to you.” She began to approach me. “So, why did you decide to tell me, even knowing?”
Chase stood before me, less than a meter away. Her eyes were level with mine, examining me with an oppressive firmness, as if she could see right through me. I swallowed hard and instinctively took a step back. Chase took another step closer.
“It’s my job...” I began tentatively before Chase cut me off.
“You and I both know that’s not why,” I averted my gaze from her. “One-sixth..”
I already knew what she was referring to, but that didn’t make it any more tolerable.
“One-sixth of the time we need for Kanter’s troops to reach Talora. That is what sabotaging those provisions means,” I dared to look at her again when she said that. “If I had to sacrifice half of our forces to gain five more days, believe me, I would do it.”
I grunted and headed for the exit without waiting for her permission. But before moving the curtain to leave, I stopped, clenching my fists until my knuckles turned white.
“I hope that on the day you’re the one who must be sacrificed, you don’t turn coward.” Her face showed no change at my words, so without waiting for her reply, I left the tent.
...
The next morning, I was walking through the camp when I saw movement out of the corner of my eye. An armor with a pauldron decorated with gold motifs. It was Chase. If she was dressed like that, it must be because she was heading to the front.
With a bit of curiosity, I followed her from a distance. She hadn’t sent me any orders or attack plans yet, so I didn’t know what she was planning.
After crossing the camp, we arrived at the area designated for the soldiers commanded by Commander Lars. I was surprised to see that a part of his camp had disappeared. If I remembered correctly, this part was designated for Captain Cros.
Just then I saw him. Captain Cros was coming out to meet Chase. He too was wearing his armor, a version designed specifically for the Hunters with the added pauldron to denote his rank.
Perhaps they’re the ones Chase assigned to assault the enemy base, I thought, noticing the way Cros approached. He looked nervous and quite worried.
Chase began to speak to him, and I could see the changes in Cros’s face. At one point, he opened his mouth to speak but closed it almost immediately. Chase’s face looked unmoved in the slightest.
Finally, I saw Cros stand up completely straight and say something I couldn’t hear due to the distance, probably a question. Chase looked down at the ground and finally nodded with conviction.
Chase offered him her hand, and Cros took it back and hugged her. Chase looked slightly uncomfortable and glanced to the opposite side from me. Noticing that she was trying to see if anyone was watching, I hid behind a tent and peeked out a few seconds later to see Chase returning the hug.
I blinked several times, trying to make sure of what I was seeing. Finally, they both let go, and Cros handed her what seemed to be a piece of paper.
I decided that was my cue to leave, so I hid behind the tent and began to review what I had just observed. Cros’s company was undoubtedly going to be the one to attack the enemy base, but...
Why is Cros okay with this? I still couldn’t understand it. You’d think no one would dare go on a suicide mission like this, and yet here we were.
I saw a movement in the corner of my eye and turned to see Chase standing next to me, adjusting her breastplate. She wasn’t looking at me, but it wasn’t necessary to know she was aware of my presence. I froze instantly.
“How much?” she asked in an emotionless tone.
How much? How much what?
It was obvious she was referring to what had happened back there. I looked from side to side, trying to formulate a response.
“I didn’t... I only saw you, I didn’t hear anything.”
“Do you want to come?” she asked in the same emotionless tone.
“I don’t have my armor...”
“You were the best graduate of the Fortress in your generation, weren’t you? You’ll be fine.”
The second best, to be exact... Of course, I didn’t say it to her, but I thought it all the same.
After realizing I didn’t really have a choice, I simply nodded, and she began to walk, leading me.
...
Chase wasn’t actually going to join the assault, so she was only there to provide support from the rear, or at least that’s what I assumed, given it was the only thing we could do from our position, next to all the medical personnel Chase had brought with her.
I was quite nervous. My legs were trembling a little, and I felt a bit agitated, not to say paranoid. While it wasn’t the first time I was going into battle, it was the first time I was witnessing one of Chase’s suicide plans.
I felt guilty for being relieved that I wasn’t one of those who would march to their death today. I already knew the destructive power of the cold bombs, and I didn’t want to feel it firsthand.
When the troops began to advance and became visible to the camp, I could see the enemy beginning to retreat while a few soldiers remained to hold them back as the others prepared to flee.
The truth is, I didn’t feel like watching the scene for long. I already knew how this was going to end.
My gaze fixed on Chase’s face, completely impassive. Her features were a series of sharp angles connected to each other, forming a face that screamed danger to anyone who looked at it.
A sound similar to a huge suction was heard, and I felt a gust of icy wind hit the side of my body facing the enemy base.
Chase simply took a pair of binoculars and studied the area for what felt like an eternity to me. With a growl of frustration, she lowered the binoculars and raised her hand as if she were going to throw them. The medical team and I took a step back, but Chase just kept them in her hand.
“Pack everything up. There are no survivors.”
Somehow, my eyes ignored my brain’s command not to look at the field before us, and all I saw were mounds of star-shaped ice spreading out in all directions, and in the center of the camp, a cluster of reddish ice patches.
I felt my breathing begin to accelerate dramatically, and my legs gave way. I bent over, and between ragged breaths, I started to vomit.
